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Annan upbeat on Iraq talks
GENEVA, Switzerland -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says consensus between five key U.N. members on the future of Iraq is "essential and achievable." And speaking alongside Annan after a meeting of the foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the talks had given them a basis for further discussions in New York next week. He said he was encouraged by the talks -- also involving France, Britain, Russia and China -- that had shown "many points of convergence." But some difficulties remained to be worked out. Powell is seeking more international military and financial support in Iraq. The U.S. is suffering casualties virtually every day and U.S. President George W. Bush is seeking an $87 billion budget boost to help pay for the military occupation and reconstruction. The latest setback came in Fallujah Friday, where nine Iraqi policemen and a Jordanian soldier were killed in an apparent friendly-fire incident. At least one U.S. soldier was injured. The skirmish seems to have been triggered by three unidentified men driving up and firing on an Iraqi police station before driving away. They were chased by Iraqi police in unmarked cars, who in turn were fired upon by U.S. soldiers. Jordanian soldiers protecting a hospital were drawn into the firefight after thinking they had come under attack too. (Full Story) 'Recipe for chaos'France is calling for a quicker timetable for the transfer of power from the U.S. occupying regime to Iraqis -- effectively pushing the existing U.S. occupation authorities under U.S. diplomat Paul Bremer to the sidelines. Foreign minister Dominique de Villepin says he wants a new resolution that would hand executive powers to U.S.-selected politicians, possibly within a month, and provide for general elections by next spring, according to an article in Le Monde Friday. Powell was quoted as saying on his way from Washington to Geneva Friday that the French proposal was "totally unrealistic" and that the U.S. would reject it. "It would be delightful if one could do that but one can't do that ... I cannot anticipate us agreeing to any language that would buy into what minister de Villepin has been saying," he added. Instead, he said U.S. forces would have to stay in charge until a new Iraqi army and police force take shape. "We are not going to second that (U.S.) force to anyone else," he added. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called Saturday's gathering "an informal meeting." "Formal discussions will continue in New York," Straw said when he arrived for the meeting. Straw said that talks so far had been "very cordial" and "very instructive." After Saturday's meeting, Powell is scheduled to travel to Kuwait and then to Iraq for his first visit since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime, according to a State Department spokesman. Spokesman Richard Boucher said Powell will discuss "joint efforts to maintain stability" with "top leaders" in both countries. The Geneva meeting was called by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Bush is scheduled to speak to the U.N. General Assembly on September 24. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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